THINK

 

Sweden Denies Asylum to Christians Facing Persecution

STOCKHOLM — Christians in Iran face arrest, torture, even death. But that doesn’t seem to matter to Swedish immigration officials.

Sweden wants to send Iranian Christian asylum seekers, who left Islam, back to Iran where they could be killed.

Iran is one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians. As apostates from Islam, they face grave danger in this country.

But their requests for asylum status that could save their lives have been denied.

Reza Jabbari has been in hiding after his asylum request was rejected. He knows what could await him in Iran.

“Islam teaches that every man who leaves Islam must be killed because that man is an apostate,” he said.

His pastor, Cai Berger, still can’t believe Reza’s asylum request was denied.

Transparency marks Montana sex abuse lawsuit mediation

A weeklong “global mediation” slated to begin April 15 in Seattle will seek a broad settlement for two comprehensive sex abuse lawsuits pending against the diocese of Helena, Montana, and the Ursuline Sisters.

More than 360 plaintiffs, several insurance carriers, the Helena diocese and Ursuline Sisters will be represented at the Seattle gathering to negotiate culpability and potential financial awards for sex abuse claims against priests and women religious.

Some claims date to the mid-1930s, but the bulk are from the 1950s through 1970s, attorneys said.

If the process is successful, at least two major goals would be met, attorneys for both the diocese and claimants Said. First, the diocese would avoid bankruptcy. Second, a significantly larger portion of any ultimate monetary settlement would reach claimants rather than be consumed by costly, extended legal maneuvering.

Court proceedings have been on hold for more than a year following Bishop George Thomas’ pledge to open diocesan financial records, to share information from accused priests’ files, and to work toward a mediated solution with plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Pope Francis: Regina coeli

Pope Francis prayed the Regina coeli with pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square on Monday. The focus of his remarks before the traditional Eastertide prayer of Marian devotion was twofold: the reality of the resurrection and of Christ’s grace; the need for us to cooperate with that grace so that it can become effective in our lives and in the world.

This is an English translation.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy Easter to you all! Thank you for coming today, in such large numbers, to share the joy of Easter, the central mystery of our faith. Let us pray that the power of the resurrection of Christ might reach everyone – especially those who suffer – and every place that is in need of trust and hope.

Time to reunite all Catholics with a new Nicaea

When the Roman Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., both the church and the empire were in a state of flux. A little more than a decade earlier, Constantine had legalized Christianity, because he recognized the growing social and financial power of Christians within the empire. But controversy, turmoil and violence raged over some unsettled theological issues. Chief among them was the question of the relationship of God the Father and the Son. How could Christianity make the claim that God is one, and at the same time affirm the divinity of the Son? For that matter, how could Christianity affirm that Jesus, a human being, was also the divine Son of God?

The 300 or so bishops who gathered at Nicaea followed a creative and precedent-setting path in resolving the issues before it.

First, the perceived need for unity among the many diverse Christian communities in the empire led them to create creedal formulas that excluded dissent — and dissenters. The bishops wanted to create unity in the church — and help maintain it in the empire — by clearly establishing in the creed who was “in” the church and who was “out.” The council chose an “either-or” path to determine who could rightly call themselves Christian. Their message was clear: Believe this way, or you’re out.

POPE’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL

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The Pope’s general prayer intention for April is: “That the public, prayerful celebration of faith may give life to the faithful.”

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His mission intention is: “That mission churches may be signs and instruments of hope and resurrection”

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No agreement on the weapons treaty

The Secretary General of the United Nations said he was deeply disappointed with the failure of the Final United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty. Its adoption by consensus, that is, unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly, was blocked by North Korea, Iran and Syria at the end of two weeks of negotiations. Ban Ki-moon emphasized in a note that it was a balanced text that would have established effective common standards to regulate the international trade in conventional arms. The Secretary General now “strongly hopes that Member States will continue exploring ways to bring the Treaty into being” and “to make this happen as soon as possible”. The supporters of the the UN document hope for a broad consensus should there be a vote in the General Assembly next week, where the aim will be to obtain approval from two thirds of the 193 member states.

The United Nations had seemed close to reaching the historical agreement on the first global and binding International Treaty on the arms trade after the change made to the position of the United States by President Barack Obama. Until then the United States had been opposed to subjecting their own arms trade to international restrictions. The majority of the African and Latin American countries in particular had done their utmost to obtain consensus on the Arms Trade Treaty, while nevertheless considering it weak in such aspects as missiles control and the banning of weapons such as drones – most of the African and Latin American countries in particular had done their utmost.

Bishop Bill Morris on reclaiming Vatican II

By way of the Australian Web site Catholica, edited by Brian Coyne, a talk by Australian Bishop Bill Morris on reclaiming the spirit of Vatican II. You may recall that Morris was sacked in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, with the help of a secret report fashioned by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. The investigation of Morris was occasioned in large part by a pastoral letter in which he suggested that, given the priest shortage and subsequent pastoral problems, the church should discuss other possibilities, including ordaining women.

Morris in this talk speaks of the vital role of laity in translating the Second Vatican Council and reclaiming its spirit. Not a bad Holy Week reflection.

Easter “Monday of the Angel”

Italians call it “Monday of the Angel:” the Monday following Easter, also commonly referred to as “Easter Monday.”

In Rome, Pope Francis will pray the Regina Coeli at twelve noon with pilgrims who are already filling St. Peter’s square to recite the traditional Marian prayer. The Regina Coeli is sung or recited in place of the Angelus during the Easter season, from Holy Saturday through Pentecost Sunday.

To quote Pope John Paul II’s words on this feast day in 2003, “Easter Monday is called “Monday of the Angel” in memory of what happened at dawn on that first day after Saturday. In fact, it was an Angel that comforted the women who, having hurried to the tomb and found it empty, were bewildered and upset…Indeed, if Christ is risen, everything changes and life and history acquire new meaning.”

In today’s liturgy, the Church remembers the Apostle Peter’s preaching to the crowds in Jerusalem, and his announcement that Jesus has been raised up “and of that we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32).

Coptic Catholic patriarch: Work across sectarian lines

Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak said rising social and economic troubles since the revolution are leading to the despair and emigration of the country’s Christians and Muslims alike, and that his church must work across sectarian lines to restore “lost confidence” in the predominantly Muslim North African nation.

“Our challenge is that we reclaim our Egyptian identity and our concern for all Egyptians and for our culture. We have lost confidence in ourselves. We had transitioned and were ready to start anew and build and progress, but nothing has happened, and this is the [church’s] challenge: that people here can again have a good life, on the human level, and economic level,” Sedrak said.

Advocates working to keep needs of poor foremost in U.S. budget debate

On Capitol Hill, when it’s spring it’s time to debate the federal budget.

Republicans and Democrats set spending parameters for fiscal year 2014 by adopting two starkly different budget plans before recessing a week before Easter. What’s expected when Congress returns April 8 is a lengthy debate over whether austerity and lower taxes or modest adjustments in government spending supplemented with selected tax law changes to boost revenues is the way to go.

The debate will come as the impact of the March 1 automatic spending cuts in hundreds of government-funded programs — known as the sequester — begins to pinch social service providers.

“The longer this has gone on, the more concerned our agencies are becoming,” Candy Hill, senior vice president for social policy and government affairs at Catholic Charities USA, said.

Hebron cleric accuses Israel of plotting to rebuild temple

A leading figure in the Muslim religious establishment said Israel has a “manifest” plan to rebuilt the Jewish Temple on the ruins of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Sheikh Taysir Rajab al-Tamimi, who heads Hebron’s Sharia court, said in his Friday sermon that daily “intrusions” by Israeli MKs and Jewish leaders into the complex surrounding the holy Muslim site prove that such a plan exists, Arutz Sheva reported.

Tamimi reportedly stated that the Israeli decision to erect a Jewish religious building near the Temple Mount was part of a plan to rebuild the Jewish Temple over its ruins.

In priestly communion with Benedict XVI

Pope Francis telephoned Benedict XVI in the late morning of Thursday, 28 March, following the celebration of the Chrism Mass in the Vatican Basilica. On the day in which priests renew the promises, the Pope desired to discuss the meaning of priestly communion in a long and meaningful conversation with his predecessor.